Alarm clock



.Dec. 19, 1922.

1,439,064.. A. BULL.

ALARM CLOCK. FILED JAN-11,1922.

Patented Dec. 19, 1922.

UNITED STATES ANDERS BULL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ALARM CLOCK.

Application filed January 11, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDEns BULL, a citizen of the United States, residing at 919 Leland Avenue, in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Alarm Clock, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide an inexpensive and convenient means for notifying person of the expiration of a predetermined. time period and may also, in part, be applied to alarm clocks of the ordinary type with a view to simplifying its manipulation and construction with a consequent reduction of its cost.

The clock described in this specification may be used in the kitchen for cooking and baking, in the laboratory for indicating the completion of chemical and physical processes, for photographic-a1 work, in the plating room, factory, otlice, and for a great variety oil? other purposes. For such use, the ordinary alarm clock is unsuited as the operations necessary to time the alarm signal are too cumbersome: the time at which the signal shall be sounded must be figured I out, the alarm pointer carefully set, two

fected through a keys must he wound, and the alarm stop released.

In my inn novcd design, these operations have been much simplified. All that is needed is to set a pointerand to wind one key. .lpon the expiration of the time period indicated by the pointer an alarm signal. is sounded and the clock stops. Though the clock may be built for any total time period desired there is comparatively little need for an alarm signal to be timed more than an hour in a vance, so the clock has been designed primarily with this end in view. To this purpose one pointer only is required and the construction thus simplified. The dial is divided in {30 parts usual. each division representing one minute, and inscrihed at suitable intervals with runnerals indicating the total number of divisions counting backwards from the Zero mark, the term backwards being used for a direction opposite to the one in which the pointer is impelled by the works.

Another important simplification is oi iecial arrangement of the clock gears per ting the winding of both timeand alarm works to be done in a single opertion. Provisions are. moreover. made so that the main spring can never Serial No. 528,498.

fully relax, by virtue of which half a turn of the winding key is ample to run theclock for an hour and to sound the alarm signal.

I attain these objects by means of the arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings representing part of the movement of a. clock. Fig. 1 is a face View of the work's showing a portion of the dial; Fig. 2 is a section taken on line A-A in l ig. 1; and Fig. 23 is a zig-zag section taken on line l? C in Fig. 2, similar numerals referring to similar parts throughout the several views.

Figs. 2 and 3 show the main spring 1, fastened at one end to the sprin carriage or capsul and at the other to t e shaft 3 which is voted in the bushing 4 and frame 5 and is rigidly connected with the main me gear (3 while the capsule is rigidly connet-ted with :e ratchet 7 and the bushing 4. In a groove formed by the ratchet and a shouhler on the bushing is loosely mounted the main alarm gear 8.

By winding the key 9 which is fitted into the bushing, the capsule is turned in aclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 and the spring is coiled up, a tendency being thereby imparted to the main time gear 6 to rotate in the same direction, as indicated by the arrow to the left in Fig. 3.

On releasing the key, the spring is pre vented from recoiling by the pawl 10 engaging the ratchet 7. The pawl is fastened to the main alarm gear 8 which operates the clapper ll through gears 12, 13, 14, and the star wheel 15. The spring acting through the ratchet and pawl strives to rotate gear 8 in the opposite direction of that of gear 6, as indicated by the arrow to the right in Fig. 3; however, no such movement can take place until the clapper has been released through the alarm control mechanism.

The main time gear 6 meshes with the cog-wheel of the pointer gear 16 the hub of which is frictionally connected with its pivot 17 in the custon'lary way, by means of friction washers 18. Its movement is controlled by the escapement acting through gears 19, 20, and several others. These other gears as well the escapement are arranged in a similar way as in the ordinary alarm clock for which reason they have been omitted Join the diagrams.

Fixed to the dial end of the pivot 17 (Figs. 1 and a cam 21 which, when the pointer approaches the zero mark on the dial 23 (coinciding with the 60 mark), engages a pin 24 on the lever 25, forcing the latter to the right against the pressure of a spring 26. The extreme end of this lever is bent so as to catch the pointed end of another lever 27 which is secured to the pivot of the clapper 11, thereby arresting its movement. @n the pointer reaching the zero mark, however, the lever 25 has been pushed far enough to the right to release the clapper and the alarm signal is sounded.

At this juncture, the left hand edge of the oval shaped hole 28 in the lever will all but make contact with the pivot 1'7, therefore the pointer can only be moved a fraction 01 a divi n beyond the zero mark. Similarly, in setting the pointer by turning the button 29, the pointer cannot be turned backwards more than one revolution, corresponding to the (50 mark on the dial, because the cam, now striking the pin 2 from the right While the right hand edge of the hole 28 is in contact with the pivot, will again stop it.

'lo the rim of the capsule 2 (Figs. 2 and is riveted an angular piece engaging another piece on the main time gear e. These two pieces serve to limit the motion of the capsule relative to said gear to about one revolution and, thus prevent the spring both from being overstressed and from uncoiling beyond a certain measure. The spring power is thus kept within fined limits suiiicient to operate both timeand alarm works satisfactorily. are posts for keeping the two parts of the frame together.

In operating the clock, it it be :l'er inst. desired to have the signal sounded at the end of 15 minutes, the pointer .is set bank by hand by divisions on the dial. The key 9 is then given a quarter of a turn or more, according as a short or long signal is wanted, and the clock started. its the st htest setting back of the pointer immei. any causesv the clapper to be arrested, the alarm gears-cannot turn, so the spring power at the start is consumed in moving the ti gears only, the pointer moving over the in the usual direction. At the end of l5 minutes the pointer will have reached the zero mark, the clapper is set free, and the remainder of the spring power stored up in winding the key is consumed in striking the alarm bell, after which the clock automatically stops.

The gear arrangement above described is also adaptable to ordinary alarm clocks, means being in this case provided for limiting the duration of the alarm signal, as in clocks for spasmodic alarm, to insure that only a part of the spring power is consumed in ringing the hell.

I claim:

1. in alarm clocks having one main spring for driving the timeand alarm mechanisms, the combination of a stop connected with one end of the spring, with a catch connected with the other end, said step and catch 00- operating to limit the rotational displacement of the spring ends relative to each other for the purpose set forth.

2. In clocks comprising a timeand alarm i'i'iechanisn the combination of a dial reading from zero to'tlO minutes, and a pointer edly connected through its pivot with its button and adapted to be moved by the time mechanism r r said dial, with means operated through said pivot for arresting the alarm mechanism at the slightest turning back of the button after the pointer has been brought into its zero position.

8. In alarm clocks, the combination of a dial reading from zero to 60 minutes, and a pointer fixedly connected through its pivot with its button, with means operated through the pointer pivot limiting the scope of motion of the pointer and arresting the alarm mechanism at the slightest turning back of the button whenever the pointer is in its zero position.

1-. ln alarm clocks, the combination of a single main spring for driving the time and alarm mechanisms, a dial reading :trom zero to co minutes and a pointer for said dial fixedly connected through its pivot with its button, with means for keepii'lg the spring deflection within lined limits, a member operated through the pointer pivot for limiting the scope of motion of the pointer, and means cooperating with said member for arresting the alarm mechanism at the slightest turning back of the button whenever the pointer is in its zero position.

- ANDRES BULL. 

